In
response, Michael Brune, Sierra Club Executive Director, issued the following
statement:

“The U.S. State Department’s final report on the Keystone
XL today is an insult to anyone who expects government to work for the interests
of the American people.

“Americans don't
want a 2,000 mile-long toxic crude oil pipeline running through our heartland
for the benefit of a foreign oil corporation and they don’t want another oil
spill. TransCanada's proposed tar sands pipeline would threaten our most
productive farmlands and the drinking water of millions of Americans. It would expose more Americans to
cancer-causing carcinogens, and open the gates on the biggest source of carbon
pollution in the northern hemisphere.

“The mathematics
are simple but the stakes are incredibly high—the United States has nothing to
gain from Keystone XL, and everything to lose.

“American
innovation and technology are poised to deliver clean and safe energy solutions
to power our economy, but we need corporate polluters like TransCanada to get
out of our way. The Sierra Club and our 1.4 million members and supporters are
looking to President Obama for bold action and we urge him to reject this
abomination.”

///

The State
Department’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS):

Fails to examine threats to the Ogallala Aquifer
– a drinking water source for millions of Americans – and the Sandhills of South
Dakota, despite numerous requests from U.S. Senators;

Ignores the effects of toxic pollution from
corrosive tar sands refineries – cancer, asthma and heavy metal poisoning – on
the millions of residents in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas and other cities;

Disregards the fact that there are no existing
federal safeguards in place for the safe transport of tar sands crude oil,
known as bitumen, one of the dirtiest and most dangerous forms of oil on
Earth.